TTT // 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads

After having a browse of my Goodreads shelves, I’ve come to the conclusion that I am super frivolous when giving out 5 stars. While trying to upkeep the reputation of stone cold bitch, I am also super empathetic. I hate giving out middling ratings like 3 stars; what can an author do with that? How they improve on a rating that basically translates to “Eh.” And then, there’s the lower ratings, which I only really give if I have strong negative feelings about a book.

But, apparently, I’m easily impressed, so we don’t need to worry about that. Here are my 10 most recent 5 stars and why I gave them 5 stars.

I read The Sky Is Everywhere recently whilst in sunny Spain. I wasn’t feeling too well, so while the family went off on a full day’s trek, I stayed in the villa and read this book in one sitting on the roof. I felt like I wasn’t in Spain anymore, but in California, with the characters, feeling the things they felt (I told you I was empathetic). The writing will leave you completely enamored. Jandy Nelson is a genius with the written word.

I’ll Give You The Sun was my first dip into the wonderful world of Jandy Nelson, and it was rec’d to me from a lovely person at YALC (who I understand was just trying to sell me books, but I’m sure also love the story, so I trusted them). What I’d be opening the page to, I did NOT expect. Gosh, if I thought Rainbow Rowell was a fantastic contemporary writer, then Jandy Nelson is up there with her, battling it out for top spot in my mind. Every character is vibrant, flawed, and uuuuuugh.

After getting A Darker Shade of Magic purely on a whim, from the first chapter I knew I was in for a good’un. ADSOM is full to the brim with delicious descriptions of character, of setting, and even of costumes. Every character is rich in personality and flaw and you end up loving every single one, regardless of their level of evilness (which sometimes can make you love them more anyway).

I didn’t have to wait for A Gathering of Shadows for long (oh, the joys of getting into a series late), and was once again blown away from the sheer detail and imagination put into these books. Just give them a read, and you’ll become obsessed.

This was a library book pick that I had no idea about. I’m not a big fan of historical fiction, and I’m not too fussed about Greek Mythology. I picked this up on a whim and ended up crying at 10pm on a Saturday night while listening to Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco. Oh, the symbolism. Get ready for your heart to literally triple in size. I wrote the review for this not ten minutes after reading it because I could just not keep my thoughts inside.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

I’ve just been recently disappointed by Holly Black with The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, but this book was beautiful. A metaphor for growing up, along with faeries and magical creatures and cute LGBT+ love. It mixes fantasy with real life contemporary so much so that it makes it look normal to have faeries living in the forest near your house.

The Raven Boys was fine. The Dream Thieves was something else. Who knew I could find interest in a book about cars when I don’t give two shits about ’em? Book 2 in The Raven Cycle is the most popular I reckon, because Ronan Lynch is a precious sinnamon roll. Kavinsky, the book’s antagonist, is also a rich and developed, fucked up character who makes everything more interesting. I read this whilst on a week off from work whilst also taking part in Nanowrimo. Honestly, just read it.

Here she is, the light of my life. There is not a Rainbow Rowell book I haven‘t liked yet. Apart from Fangirl, which as 4 stars, I’ve given RR 5 stars for all her other books. Landline is the most recent one I’ve read, an adult contemporary about juggling life when it’s at it’s busiest. It was so perfect, so much so that I read on the bus; a very dangerous thing for me to do.

Carry On was one for the best books I read in 2015. When you read a passage, and you have to put the book down and stare into space and bask in it, then you know you’re on to a corker. Raimbow Rowell is fantastic at character heavy stories, and Carry On is a great example.

Leigh Bardugo has literally become the queen of my bookish heart. Every story she writes captures my attention so easily and so quickly. I received Six Of Crows as an ARC through work, and so got to read it a few months before it was released. The Grisha Trilogy is one of my all time favourite series, and I was concerned that Six of Crows might not be of the same caliber. But it is, and so much more. It’s grittier, more feisty, and rag tag team of misfits is my jam. I bought the fancy hardcover version and went to get it signed by LB at a talk she did, where she gave thoughtful and insightful answers to each and every question. She and her writing are who and what I aspire to be.